On March 2, the Vancouver Writers Fest will host an intimate evening with some of Canada’s finest new literary voices and storytellers: Jess Taylor (Pauls), Kevin Hardcastle (Debris) and Kris Bertin (Bad Things Happen). We speak to each author about their debut books and their characters ahead of the event.

Jess Taylor, author of Pauls

Q: Tell us about your book.

A: Pauls is a book of short stories about people named Paul. But it’s also about a Claire, a Jill, a Stef, a Will, a man who is never named, a Katrina and many others, all the people who come into contact with our Pauls. It’s up to the reader to figure out if a Paul in one Paul story is a Paul in another story, as these characters hurt, misunderstand and heal each other.

Q: Many of these stories explore the lives of people in transition — they are moving between jobs, relationships, experiences, memories, discoveries. What is most interesting to you about such liminal characters?

A: I never really saw these characters as particularly liminal except for the fact that they are still going through a period of growth. A lot of these characters still are discovering themselves or developing self-awareness, even the 70-year-old man in The Letters. Most of these characters are trapped — either in a terrible relationship, by their memories, illness, their own limitations, or their particular situation (whether that is a job, particular obligations, etc.). Rather than being caught in between, I feel like they are just caught and straining at the edges of whatever has them stuck. It’s like Katrina in And We Spin Like Records: She can climb up a tree or to the top of the rock climbing wall, but she always has to come down. My characters dream of an unending wall, of being able to get into the sky, of not having any limitations at all, not even of the body. To me, this is incredibly sad because it can never be achieved and also a very realistic desire. It’s always been important to me to show people’s pain and frustration, to portray these trapped characters.

Kevin Hardcastle, author of Debris

Q: Tell us about your book.

A: Debris is a book of stories about people who live in reasonable proximity to the brink, or right at it. Most of them are part of the underclass, or marginalized in some way, whether they’re criminals, cage fighters, waylaid workers or an elderly woman who knows her way around a scattergun. But they all have heart, and live by a code, and reflect a beauty in survival and endurance that can only come from living on the fringe.

Q: What is most interesting to you about such liminal characters?

A: These characters are under constant pressure from things out of their control — trying to slip punches thrown by a society they’re at odds with, the natural environment, and often from people who are out to harm them. Part of their ability to survive is their ability to adapt, but sometimes they plant their feet and throw back. The mutability of people interests me greatly, but I’m even more interested in the crucial moments where they will not bend. That shows who they truly are. If you can capture that in an organic way, you’ll likely have a story that matters.

Kris Bertin, author of Bad Things Happen

Q: Tell us about the book.

A: A college dropout becomes a con man. A punch-drunk limo driver sees all the possible outcomes of his life, all at once. A mother watches her adult son turn into a child before her eyes. A couple tries to fix and sell a house with a basement full of unco-operative and dangerous low-lifes. The book’s called Bad Things Happen because it concerns itself with the lives of people who have been transformed — by some force, big or small, usually beyond their control — into something they hadn’t dreamed they could become.

Q: What is most interesting to you about such liminal characters?

A: Uncertainty is story dynamite. Characters in a state of flux can really surprise readers, and even the writers making them. If a person is on the brink, if they’re entering a situation they have never been prepared for, they’re going to exhibit some truly fascinating behaviour. Likewise, when all other concerns are pushed away, characters show you what they’re really worried about, what they really believe in. Insight can be cultivated this way, but so can delusion. And beyond all of that, a good story has to have something at stake. Everything is a good place to start.

Incite takes place on March 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the Vancouver Public Library, 700 West Georgia St. Free. For further information, visit writersfest.bc.ca.

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Author Q&A: Writers Fest hosts the best new faces in Canadian literature

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